Village Shepherd

There wasn't much that Adrian was good at, except swimming. He learned to swim when he was little more than a baby, and he loved it. When he was seven he joined a swimming club. It was there that he first met Mr Stevens, the swimming coach.

Adrian got on well with Mr Stevens. Somehow Mr Stevens was really encouraging. He taught Adrian the best way of making his strokes and Adrian began to win at many of the galas he attended. Mr Stevens was strict but fair. He refused to put up with any nonsense, and he made all the youngsters work really hard. Some of the youngsters complained, but Adrian noticed that Mr Stevens himself always worked harder than any of them.

Adrian felt he could rely on Mr Stevens. When Adrian had the flu coming on and didn't really feel like swimming, Mr Stevens was very understanding and sent him home to bed. And when he fell and hurt his ankle, Mr Stevens knew exactly what to do. But when he was just fed up, and wanted to slope off home early from swimming practice, Mr Stevens was furious with him and made him stay. Adrian didn't much like facing Mr Stevens' anger. But after his anger, Mr Stevens asked Adrian whether there was anything wrong. And he was really understanding when Adrian told him he felt fed up with all the work. He talked to Adrian's parents, and made sure Adrian had a holiday. After that, Adrian was full of enthusiasm again.

Mr Stevens was just the sort of person Adrian felt he would like to be when he grew up. He was dedicated to his work, kind and understanding and gentle, and he cared about all the children.

But one day something went wrong. Suddenly, Mr Stevens wasn't there any more. All the parents looked very serious, and whispered amongst themselves. Adrian strained to hear what they were saying, but he didn't understand what was going on.

Then he heard the local news on television. Mr Stevens had been arrested! One of the girls from the swimming club had accused him of molesting her. Just then, Adrian's mum came in and very quickly switched off the television. Adrian asked her what "molesting" meant. She said one of the girls had told the police that Mr Stevens had touched her in the wrong sort of way.

Adrian was aghast. He couldn't believe Mr Stevens would ever do anything like that. But when he got to the club the other children were talking about Mr Stevens rather nastily. Adrian began to wonder whether they were right. He felt very confused. He had been so certain Mr Stevens was a really good person. Now he didn't know what to think.

When he got home, he talked to his parents about the problem. "How was Mr Stevens with you?" asked his father.

"He was always great!" Adrian said.

"And with the other children?" asked his Dad.

Adrian nodded. "With everybody," he said firmly. "He was always the same with everyone, and he was brilliant!"

"Then you must decide by what you've seen and heard," said Adrian's father. "You know in your heart whether he was a good or a bad person. You must stick with what you know."

A day or two later, Mr Stevens was released without charge. Apparently the girl who had accused him had been really angry and jealous because she hadn't been chosen to be in the swimming team. She'd thought this would be an easy way to get at Mr Stevens. But when the police began to question her in detail, it became very clear that Mr Stevens was completely innocent.

Adrian was delighted. He felt a little ashamed that he had ever doubted Mr Stevens at all, but he knew he would never doubt him again.